James Taylor performs with Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Utah Symphony

I wasn’t sure what to think when I first heard that the legendary singer-songwriter James Taylor would be performing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Utah Symphony. I was definitely intrigued but I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. Would the choir fit Taylor’s style of music and vice-versa?

On Saturday I had a chance to find out as my friend Becky and I attended the second of Taylor’s performances with the choir and symphony at the Conference Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. Apparently the Friday night performance packed the 21,000-seat auditorium. There were a few empty seats Saturday night but that can probably be attributed to the heavy rain and a BYU game one county to the south in Provo.

Prior to the show we visited the new Illume Gallery at the City Creek Center. It’s a project of Jane Meyer, owner of two St. George galleries, Authentique and The Mission Gallery. It was fun to see what she was able to do with a much larger space. Plus a few Southern Utah artists are now represented at Illume, including Annette Everett, Julie Rogers and Kate Starling. Julie was even there for the opening so we had a chance to talk with her about the stories behind some of her paintings.

Next we walked across the street to the flagship store of O.C. Tanner Jewelers, which was sponsoring the concert at the 30th Anniversary O.C. Tanner Gift of Music Gala Concert. Housed in the old Salt Lake City Library and former site of the Hansen Planetarium, this beautiful store was the location of a special reception prior to the concert. We enjoyed some wonderful food and heard brief remarks from those associated with the performance, including President Henry B. Eyring of the LDS Church’s First Presidency.

Finally it was time for the show itself. It was strange for me to sit in the auditorium of the Conference Center rather than the walled off media room where I normally sit twice a year to cover the LDS General Conference for The Spectrum & Daily News.

The show began with the symphony performing John Williams’ “Liberty Fanfare” before the choir joined in for a couple of folk hymns, “Saints Bound for Heaven” and the wonderful “Down to the River to Pray.” Then finally it was time for Taylor.

Since I’m usually only in the Conference Center for the more solemn General Conference, I’m not accustomed to applause in the massive building. Yet there was plenty of it when Taylor took the stage — even some whistles and “woo-woos.” And he immediately earned it with my favorite song of his, “Carolina in My Mind,” with the symphony providing the music. Although I expected him to sound good, he still surpassed my expectations. That signature voice of his was perfect, like he hadn’t aged a day.

After the gorgeous performance of “Carolina” he showed off the beauty of his vocal instrument by taking on “Lonesome Road” a cappella. Of course, he also had a huge choir backing him — just no instruments besides the vocal kind.

The symphony returned to back him on what may be his biggest hit, “Fire and Rain,” before he left the stage while the choir and symphony took on two African-American spirituals, “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In” and “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” exhibiting the choir’s recent interest in American roots music.

Following an intermission the choir and symphony started off a section based on the American Songbook by offering up “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” from “State Fair.” Then Taylor returned to the stage to sing a tender rendition of “Getting to Know You” from “The King and I.”

Although he didn’t perform on the next two songs, Taylor remained on stage, sitting on a stool near the symphony’s first violin. While Taylor got most of the loudest cheers for the evening, the choir’s organist Richard Elliott proved a worthy rival after dazzling us with his instrumental version of “I Got Rhythm” from “Girl Crazy.” Strategically placed cameras around his organ helped us appreciate even more Elliott’s immense talent, creating the non-Taylor highlight of the night.

Finally the choir sang a rousing “Seventy-Six Trombones” from “The Music Man” backed by the symphony with some especially impressive horn work. Then it was Taylor’s turn to command the stage for the remainder of the show. The symphony backed him for a stunning take on his friend Carole King’s “Up on the Roof” and the traditional song “Water is Wide.”

Then the choir joined in for three numbers (“Secret O’ Life,” “Shed a Little Light” and “My Traveling Star”) backed by Taylor’s own three-person band. He truly seemed to be enjoying himself with hundreds of voices adding their harmonies to his. The choir especially shined on “Shed A Little Light,” which Taylor wrote as a tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was especially poignant to hear hundreds of voices paying that tribute less than two weeks after we celebrated the 50th anniversary of King’s momentous March on Washington where he delivered his most famous speech.

The last song of the regular set was “Shower The People,” a perfect closing number as both the choir and symphony backed Taylor and his band. The applause was as massive as the Conference Center following that final number but I wasn’t sure if there would be an encore for a performance like this.

There was. Taylor quickly returned to the stage for a surprising song. I didn’t think he would play “Sweet Baby James” because the intimate lullaby just wouldn’t work with a symphony or a choir, let alone both. And he didn’t try. Only his three-member band backed him on the gentle tune while the background behind the organ changed color to a purple and blue spectrum with “stars” lighting up the “sky” — perfect for a cowboy lullaby.

I didn’t think the applause could get louder than before but it seemed to do just that following “Sweet Baby James.” So Taylor came back out for a second encore number, leaving us for the evening with another Carole King song (but one that he helped make popular), “You’ve Got a Friend.”

On the drive to Salt Lake City, my friend Becky and I had been talking about some of our favorite concert experiences. Mine included R.E.M., Radiohead, Imogen Heap, The Postal Service and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers among dozens of others. I was expecting the O.C. Tanner Gift of Music Gala Concert to be enjoyable, but I didn’t expect it to crack my top 10. Yet it did just that.